


The Prices We Pay

by C1ashi1dr



Series: Team TARDIS Drabbles [15]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Gen, I don't hate 13, I swear, Lots of Whump, Not Explicitly Thasmin, Whump, but there are thasmin cuddles so there, did i mention whump?, i'm really sorry for all of this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:07:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23744302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/C1ashi1dr/pseuds/C1ashi1dr
Summary: "What does anyone ever want with a Time Lord, Doctor?" the alien asked, circling around her. "That nifty trick you have, that special ability that only you, for whatever reason, were deemed worthy enough for." He leaned close, his breath brushing against her ear, raising the hairs at her neck. "Regeneration energy."
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor & Graham O'Brien, Thirteenth Doctor & Ryan Sinclair, Thirteenth Doctor & Yasmin Khan, Thirteenth Doctor & Yasmin Khan & Graham O'Brien & Ryan Sinclair, Thirteenth Doctor/Yasmin Khan
Series: Team TARDIS Drabbles [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1671988
Comments: 6
Kudos: 62





	The Prices We Pay

**Author's Note:**

> so this was originally meant to be a short one-shot because i like whump. however...we can all see that 'short' is not what this was. it took four agonizing days to write and honestly, i just wanted to get it published, so i'm sorry for the weak ending. i still hope it's enjoyable to you guys, even if it's just for the hell of it. usual disclaimers apply, doctor who certainly isn't mine and i don't have a beta so my ass is on the line for all the mistakes
> 
> also, this takes place somewhere before the season 12 finale

"It isn't hard, Doctor." The voice above her was fading in and out. The lights of the...room? She couldn't quite remember where she was at the moment, her head was pounding too hard. But the lights were too bright, probably contributing to the headache, and the voices were making it harder to concentrate on staying awake. She blinked slowly, trying to bring the face into focus but it eluded her. Everything was eluding her and she couldn't quite figure out how to keep the nausea from welling up in her throat, no matter how much she swallowed. "Just give us what we want."

"She can't even understand us anymore." It was another voice, a snappish one. Ooh, she didn't like snappish voices, they always grated a bit on her nerves. Usually people who had too much to do, too little time to do it. "You've gone too far this time, K'alik." 

"I've gone just far enough." The first voice was full of authority, like a president. Or a lord. Oh yes, that was right, she was a Time Lord. The Doctor. Memories were starting to come back, muddled and a little blurry at the moment. Some of them shook, all wobbly and not the fun kind. She didn't like shaking memories. "We should be able to get what we want now." 

"She didn't give it to us before, she's certainly not going to give it now. Even if she can remember who she is." The second voice was younger, she supposed. Seemed concerned. Why would they be concerned? She was fine, wasn't she? "I think we should cut back on the dosage, we can't do anything with her like this."

"Let me try one more time." A face came into focus and oh, the Doctor didn't really like that face. It was curled up into an approximation of a smile, something that was a poor imitation and didn't really capture the true meaning of a smile. The face was pinched in all the wrong places, looked cruel, and the longer that Doctor looked at it, the more she realized that it was slowly growing more and more familiar to her. She'd seen that face a lot, she must have, for her to know each crease. "Oh, I see something in her eyes. I think she recognizes me."

Fear sprung into her then, driving her to try and move lead-like limbs. Her hands were tied down, so were her feet. She couldn't move away from them, but she needed to get away, she couldn't stand to be near this alien. And he was an alien.

"Hearts are beating faster." The second voice was louder, banging a hammer against her skull. "She's scared sir."

"Good," the face above her disappeared. "We like them scared, don't we? You can lower the dosage a bit. I want her coherent, but we don't need anymore fight in her. And make sure you keep her restrained, Brun, or I'll tell the president that you were the man who let her get away."

Then the footsteps were receding and there was a sharp pain in her elbow. It took everything in her not to wince. She was the Doctor. She didn't show pain, that information, at least, was ingrained in her. As the time started to tick by, her brain grew clearer and clearer until memories started to slip back in.

The Doctor tensed against the bonds holding her, trying to break free of them. Her movements were frantic, but stiff, muscles locking at the barest hint of strain. Face contorted, she tried again, pulling against the braces holding her down but it was no use. She couldn't move and, when she looked up at the face of her attacker, she knew she was trapped.

"Good to see you've still got some fight left in ya," the alien said, bustling about. "Really thought you'd really given up and all, but shoulda known we could get you back. Can't have you regenerating on us, that just wouldn't work." His hand, slightly scaly but warm, brushed against her cheek and the Doctor flinched away immediately, grimacing.

"What-" Her voice cracked, throat raw. Screaming. She'd been screaming before, water was in short supply, or they'd been holding it from her to get her to comply. But what did they want? She swallowed, throat burning as she tried to speak again. "What do you want?" Curse her voice for coming out so raspy, so weak. 

"What does anyone ever want with a Time Lord, Doctor?" the alien asked, circling around her. "That nifty trick you have, that special ability that only you, for whatever reason, were deemed worthy enough for." He leaned close, his breath brushing against her ear, raising the hairs at her neck. "Regeneration energy."

The remaining memories slammed into her like a lorry, wiping her off her mental feet. She was left reeling as hours and hours of poisons and electric rods and blasters revisited her body in a single sitting. Every muscle went tense, screamed its pain and she couldn't stop it from happening. 

When she came to again, her skin was slick with sweat, her whole body quivering with the aftermath of it all. Her wrists felt raw from straining against the braces holding her but the alien-Brun- didn't seem to care that much about it. Breath was tearing from her lungs in ragged gasps, reminding her of the shot that had gone through one of her lungs. A clinical trial for testing her resistance to bullets, her ability to heal. 

The Doctor suspected they were just addicted to inflicting harm upon her. She blinked sweat from her eyes, tried to shake a few sticky blonde locks away from her face, and she fixed Brun with her best approximation of a glare. It felt weak even to her.

"Please, Doctor," he said, crouching beside the table with a smug smirk. "We're only going to ask so many times before we give up and just force you to regenerate. We don't want that, I'm sure you don't want that. It would be much better for all involved if you just gave us what we wanted."

"I don't have to regenerate," the Doctor ground out, hating how her voice still cracked, the pained edge at the end of it. "I don't have to give you anything. I could die right here and you'd never get your hands on it." She'd almost done it before for worse reasons. Anything to keep it out of the hands of another race. The Time Lords had abused their power, she couldn't risk that happening again.  
“Oh Doctor.” Brun shook his head. She did her best to disguise the shiver of fear that dragged down her spine. “If you think we’ll ever let you go without getting what we want, you’re sorely mistaken. If you die, we’ll force you to regenerate. You could make this so much easier if you would just give it to us.”

“And give you the chance at immortality or something like that?” the Doctor asked, voice lifting with a small groan at the end. “Not a chance.”

Brun didn’t react like she thought he would, only smiling as he backed away. "I suppose we'll have to resort to other measures. Don't say I didn't warn you, Doctor, don't say that I didn't give you the easy way out." he chuckled, the sound ringing in the Doctor's ears like an unpleasant melody. She didn't like this, didn't like the look on his face or the fact that he was smiling like he knew something she didn't.

"What are you gonna do?" she mustered, afraid to ask but even more afraid of not knowing. He only chuckled, shook his head, and looked down at the machine.

"We know you travel with companions, Doctor," Brun said. "One would have to be a fool not to know that. And what do you know, we happen to know that you also like humans in particular. Never seen you travel with anyone else, which is a little offensive. Don't know why you would want to travel with such horrible creatures."

"Better than you," the Doctor said. "My companions. They don't tie people up and threaten them." Or she hoped they didn't.

"True, true," Brun said. "But we happen to know who your companions are. Caught a glimpse of them while we were loading yo onto the ship and, I have to say, they're quite impressive. I never thought you would travel with three again." He shook his head, the strange smile on his lips shifting to something sinister and twisted. "I'll say this plainly so you aren't at risk of not understanding. If you don't give us what we want, if you don't give us regeneration energy, we'll find your companions and we'll do the same that we did to you. Maybe worse, though humans are oh so fragile, aren't they?"

"You can't hurt them!" The Doctor shouted, lunging forward, or trying her best to. She was pulled immediately back down, her entire body slumping with exhaustion. Brun slid up beside her, his hands tightening around her hair, pulling it tight as he forced her eyes to meet his.

"I can do whatever I please, Doctor. Whatever is necessary to reach the end goal, and I'm certain you wouldn't want us to do that." His voice was low next to her ear, his fingers tight in her hair as he pulled it taught in his fists. "So what do you say? Regeneration energy for the continued life of your companions. We don't even need a lot, just enough-"

"Just a sample to replicate," the Doctor said. "I know what you want, there are so many others who want it." She gritted her teeth as he pulled even tighter, but she didn't let him know how much pain she was in. "And I've never given it to them. Think about that before you try and threaten me. I've never given it to anyone else. I've always escaped. What makes you so special?"

"We learn from those before us, Doctor," Brun replied. "We know what they've done wrong, and we try to keep it from happening again. We've not let you leave this table since we brought you here. No matter what you've been tied down. Scalpels are kept from your hand, anything that could be used to break out. No, Doctor, we've certainly taken precautions." He only shook his head. "I thought that perhaps you would value the lives of your companions more than that, but it seems I was mistaken. I'll have the order sent-"

"No!" the Doctor shouted before she could help it. Oh the humans, the bloody humans, they always kept her from being as independent as she wanted. Somedays that was brilliant. They were the best. But now...she couldn't let them get killed because she'd allowed herself to be taken. "Fine."

"What was that, Doctor?" He looked all too happy to try and force the words from her lips, to try and get her to say what he wanted her to say. But she couldn't force the words out. Not until his fingers hovered over a button on the machine, presumably what would send out the order.

"I'll give you what you want. Just let them be. You cannot harm them." She swallowed against her will, watched the sick joy spread across his face as dread settled deep into her stomach, a rock that was immovable. "Are you gonna take it? Are you gonna leave them alone?"

"Of course," he said. "I promised you,did I not? No harm will come to them by our hands...after you give us what we want." She nodded, though it was a bit hard considering the circumstances. He watched as she closed her eyes, mustered it up from the very core of her being, dragged it to where it would rest on her hands.

"Hope you've got a way of storing this," she muttered. "Because I'm not helping you anymore." 

"The Doctor, oh so noble and honorable that she won't risk the lives of three humans for the greatest secrets of the Time Lords." He tapped a few more buttons on his machine and, a few moments, K'alik returned, looking giddy as a child at Christmas.

"You disgust me," she told the two of them, trying to keep her voice level and not as strained as it felt. "Threatening innocent people so you can get your hands on an extended life? Despicable."

"Be quiet, Doctor," K'alik said. "And give us what we want."

She did give it to them, releasing it into a small chamber that they had, apparently, fashioned to hold it while she'd been in their care. She didn't want to know how long it had been, didn't want to know how long she'd been away from the Fam, had left them on Earth. 

The Doctor had thought that, when they had what they'd wanted, they'd release the cuffs and let her go back to the TARDIS, let her go lick her wounds like the bloody dog she apparently was. She should have known better, and the moment they'd sealed away their sample of regeneration, Brun threw a punch that caught her temple. 

She blacked out for what felt like a moment and, when she came to, she noticed that the scenery had changed. Significantly. She'd been thrown into something she could only call a cell. Barred door, check. Barred window, check. Inexplicably dark and damp and completely unpleasant, an unfortunate check. On the bright side, she could see the stars on the window. Probably on a ship, then. A moment later, the rumble of engines confirmed her suspicions. Great. They were probably on their way to the Daleks.

Her chest ached and her eager prodding fingers felt a few slight dips in her ribs. Probably breaks. The fact she could feel her ribs so cleanly was also cause for concern, but she would assess that at a later moment.

"Oi!" 

Her call was left unanswered, though it was less of a call and more of a protest, weak and completely useless. There was no one listening to her, they'd gotten what they wanted. She wasn't useless, but she wasn't necessary anymore.

"Stupid," she muttered. "Stupid, stupid Doctor. Give them what they want and they don't care if they give you back to your humans." She rested her head against the brick wall. The stone dug almost painfully into her head, but she couldn't feel it, not really. "Stupid." She banged her head against the wall. "Stupid." Bang. "Stupid." Bang. "Doctor." Some liquid started to trickle down her face (blood? Tears? she wasn't sure) and her legs buckled out from under her. All she could do was wait.

They came for her again, eventually. It was Brun, and he scooped her up by the shirt, fingers curling into the collar, tugging her down the hall. Her body was quickly becoming weak, days, maybe even a week or two, without food not doing her any good. Her ribs had been speckled with bruising for at least two days, her sleep too restless to provide proper healing. She didn't have the strength to fight back against him, stumbling weakly after him. 

Then she noticed that the ship had stopped humming under her feet, and before she could question the man holding her, the end of the corridor had opened. Light streamed in, blinding her momentarily and Brun grunted quietly.

"Been a pleasure knowing you, Doctor," he said, voice snide. She blinked the spots out of her vision, fixing his face in her sight, memorizing it. Every line, the small discolorations around his eyes, all of it. Before she could muster a reply, wet her lips enough to speak, he tossed her onto the ground. 

The Doctor's bones rattled when she landed. Her hands flew out to catch her, skimming pavement in place of her face, though the rest of her body followed soon after. There was another hum from behind her, and by the time the Doctor had mustered enough energy to look back behind her, the ship was gone.

It took another moment before she could turn her head and look around. There, sitting right in front of her, was the TARDIS. They'd brought her back to Sheffield, with the TARDIS. How long had she been gone?

"Doctor?" That was a familiar voice, one that wasn't K'alik or Brun. "Oh my God, Doctor, is that you?"

Yasmin Khan, always at the right place at the right time. How lucky was she, that one of her Fam just happened to be walking by? She'd only just mustered up words when she felt a gentle hand against her back. The warmth of the human seeped through the spot on her shirt into the rest of her body, warming it from the inside out. 

"Yaz," she murmured, trying to keep her eyes open so the human would know that she was still awake. There were a few mumbled words, but the Doctor couldn't make them out as well. Then the hand on her back moved up to her hair, brushing it away from her face.

"I've gotta move ya, Doctor." Yaz's voice, while apologetic, was somewhat stern and the Doctor could only give a little grunt to indicate that she understood what Yaz would have to do. "Sorry."

The Doctor thought that she was ready for it, had braced her weak muscles and everything, but the sudden shift made her gasp in pain. She felt Yaz wince and tried to suppress the slight whine of pain as she was moved first onto her side and then onto her back.

"There she is," the Doctor muttered, feeling slightly delirious as she caught sight of Yaz's face for the first time in ages. "How've ya been, Yaz?" Making light of the situation, she could do that. She was the Doctor, after all. Yaz's face pinched in something that could have easily been annoyance or sadness but the expression faded as quickly as it had been there. Maybe the Doctor had imagined it?

"Better than you it looks like," she said, continuing to move her hair out the way, briefly examining her. "What happened to you? We though...well, we thought that you'd left us behind. But then we found the TARDIS and...well, we didn't know what to think to be honest." She shook her head. "Here I am, blabbering on, you're clearly hurt. D'you think you can stand?"

"Me? Oh definitely. Don't underestimate me, Yasmin Khan, I can do a lot." She tried to sound confident, she really did, but the rasp to her voice and the crackly way it came out when it sounded normal was a good indicator that she wasn't alright. Even the Doctor knew that. "Give me a hand?" she asked after a moment.

Yaz nodded, managed to wiggle an arm under hers, across her back and, with a great amount of care and more than a few pained noises from the Doctor, the Time Lord was on her feet again. She looked around for a moment, vision spinning before it settled and she mustered a small smile for Yaz. It wasn't returned.

"We're going to Graham's, they're closest and he's probably got things to patch you up."

"And a comfy sofa," the Doctor mumbled. The energy it had taken to stand, even with Yaz bearing the brunt of her weight, dragged at her and she closed her eyes, intent to take a quick break before she had to walk. She didn't know if she could walk properly and she didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of Yaz.

When she opened her eyes again, they were at Graham's front door. Yaz was breathing heavily beside her. The Doctor noted some sweat trickling from her forehead down her cheek that was quickly wiped away with the one hand that she had available. When brown eyes met hers, the Doctor noted that Yaz looked completely exhausted, something weary in her gaze.

"Sorry for passing out," the Doctor muttered, feeling more than embarrassed but Yaz gave a huff that she could only interpret as dismissal. Before the Doctor could continue, the door opened and there was Graham, startled but quite concerned.

"Doc," he said. "Never thought I'd see you turn up. Come in, come in, both of you. You look like you've had a right go of it." As they were ushered inside, the Doctor looked around blearily, trying to catch up to her surroundings. She knew where she was somewhere in her brain, but the rest of her wasn't getting it just yet. 

Yaz deposited her on the sofa and collapsed on the ground next to her, legs buckling with worrying speed. She was leaning against the sofa. Graham went to fix them some tea, told them Ryan would be back and before the Doctor could really get a word in, Yaz had already turned around and was looking her over.

"What happened to you?" the human asked, voice so tender that the Doctor's hearts ached. "You disappear for weeks-" Weeks? That's how long it had been? "-and then you show up on the ground, almost dead..." Tears were brimming, most likely unbidden to Yaz's eyes and the Doctor reached up a clumsy hand to brush them away.

"Can't explain," she said, gasping when Yaz's hand brushed against her ribs. It was gentle, Yaz was always gentle, but the bruising hadn't faded (had probably gotten worse with the fall if she were honest) and it hurt to even inhale. "Not yet, anyway. Head wonk."

"Can I take a look at you?" It was a question that the Doctor normally would have deflected immediately, and the fact that she considered it should have been a sign to her state to anyone who knew her. Instead of it acting as a warning, though, Yaz brushed her fingers in the same spot, another gasp tearing from the Doctor's lips. "You're hurt."

"Yeah," the Doctor said, not wanting to deny it any longer. What harm could it do, asking for a little help? She was just a human. "Ribs are cracked, maybe broken. Depends."

"Can't you do what you always do? Take a kip and make it feel better?"

"Would if I could," the Doctor said. "Haven't exactly been sleeping the best at the moment, but I'm doing my best." Yaz nodded and brushed a hand against her forehead.

"Sleep, Doctor," she said, pressing a feather light kiss to the place where her hand had been. "We'll all be here when you wake up."

The Doctor wanted to protest that no, it wasn't guaranteed that they would be there when she woke. She didn't know what that race was capable of, didn't know if they would go back on their promise just because they could. She needed to stay awake, to look after Graham and Yaz and everyone else, but she slipped into sleep before she could even stop herself. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Think she's going to wake up anytime soon?" The voice above her was fading in and out. She felt safe, so safe. Fabric under her cheek, but she couldn't quite figure out where she was.

"She's not glowing like she was last time." Another voice, older, kinder. "So I'd take that as a good sign. She's probably just tired, poor woman. Yaz said there was a lot of bruising on her stomach and chest and too much dried blood."

"Where is Yaz?"

"Sleeping in the guest room. Said she was knackered, don't blame her. She spent most of the night up with the Doc to make sure she was alright." 

"We're lucky Yaz found her when she did, aren't we? Hate to think what would have happened if it had even been a few more hours." 

The Doctor couldn't help the slight murmur she gave. The voices stopped after that and a calloused hand brushed against her forehead. Not Yaz's hand, then. Probably Graham, Ryan didn't seem too keen on physical affection. Neither was the Doctor, if she were to be completely honest. 

"Think she's awake?"

"Y'can stop talking about me now," the Doctor muttered. "'m awake, just took a moment." Her ribs were still aching, but it was dull and faint. She struggled to sit up, taking in the rest of the room with eyes that felt like they'd been closed for years. 

"Take it easy, Doc," Graham said, but he helped her move until she was sitting upright, ignoring the sudden sting in her gut. "Are you alright? Gave us a right scare."

"Don't worry about me, Fam," the Doctor said, trying to brush off the vulnerability like a smattering of dust. "Just had a bit of a rough run-in. Nothing too serious-"

"Doctor, Yaz found you in the middle of the street, almost unconscious," Ryan said, cutting across her words with a tone that surprised her. "Can you not brush us off for once? We're not idiots, we know it was a bit more than a 'rough run-in.' Could you just talk to us?"

"Maybe save the interrogation for when she's feeling a bit better, son," Graham said. "And for when Yaz is awake. She wouldn't want to miss the explanation and I'm sure the Doctor won't want to explain herself again."

The Doctor nodded, eager to put the discussion off. She knew that Graham would hold her to it, that all of them would hold it to her. She settled against the sofa (what was it about this sofa that was so comfortable? She'd never figure it out, probably, but she knew that it was probably the best place to take a nap) watching Graham go to retrieve the first aid kit. Ryan sat down in one of the only other chairs in the room, turned on the TV.

Some silly show played in the background, and the Doctor found it hard to pay attention, mind wandering as it often did. She didn't want to stay here, not when it would mean having to properly talk to the Fam. She loved them, she really did, but telling them that she'd given up something so precious to keep them out of danger...they probably wouldn't appreciate the gesture. Something told her that Yaz in particular would get that disappointed glint in her eyes that she often did when the Doctor did something that contradicted everything she'd been teaching them. 

Graham checked the few wounds that were still left over from her little adventure, raising an eyebrow at the bullet shaped scar on her abdomen. She avoided his gaze, focusing on a point in the distance while he gently checked her ribs and the scrapes on her palms. Apparently her body hadn't deemed them worthy enough of healing, so she would just have to deal with tender hands for a while. It wouldn't be the end of the world, not if she managed to keep her hands still while she was cooped up.

They'd made that expressly clear over a small meal. The Doctor's stomach had audibly mumbled, and even though she'd insisted that she was alright, they made her a small selection of sandwiches that she began eating the moment it was placed in front of her. From there, they'd laid some ground rules for while she was recovering.

"We know you're good at getting over wounds, but we don't want you running off and getting yourself into trouble," Graham said, snatching some crisps from the corner of her plate. "So we're asking that you not leave the house unless one of us is with you. Just to make sure you're safe and you don't run away."

"Gotta have an escort, then?" The Doctor asked and she was trying too hard to be offended about it, but it was nice to know that the Fam cared about her enough to want to keep her safe. "Fine."

They both looked shocked, glancing at each other, but the Doctor kept eating. She hadn't realized that it had probably been weeks since she'd had a proper meal and that was probably what was making the sandwiches taste so delicious.

Yaz came out a few hours after that. The Doctor still had crumbs from the sandwiches still all over her shirt and the couch. She didn't mind, though, when Yaz took a seat next to her and glanced her up and down. 

"Hey," the human said quietly and the Doctor felt a smile split her face.

"Hiya, Yaz," she said, her tone equally quiet. It felt like a crime to speak louder than a low murmur. The sun was beginning to set, Graham and Ryan had gone out to the shops for some needed food and some more clothes for the Doctor. That left her and Yaz alone in the room. "Good to see you."

She watched Yaz swallow, the noise audible in the quiet room. It was nearly silent, and the Doctor was about to open her mouth to speak when Yaz enveloped her in a hug, arms about her shoulders, clinging like she'd never let go again.

"Don't you dare do that again," she said and, to the Doctor, it sounded like she was on the edge of tears, breath coming in short inhales and breathy exhales. "Don't you dare turn up after three weeks almost dead and-" she cut herself off and something like a sob came from her. 

The Doctor carefully, hesitantly, returned the hug, her hands settling awkwardly on Yaz's lower back. She didn't have words, they evaded her in the moment, so instead she tucked her head into Yaz's neck and breathed in. She had to keep her own tears at bay, she had to be strong for Yaz. 

"Promise me," Yaz said. "Promise me that'll never happen again. I thought-we thought you were dead, Doctor, and I thought that was it." 

It was irrational, but against her brain's will, the Doctor found herself murmuring an "I promise" into the skin of Yaz's neck and heard the answering mumbled. They sat like that for what felt like years, Yaz clinging to her like her life depended upon it, the Doctor trying not to squirm in discomfort until Yaz finally pulled away. 

Again the human looked over her, and the Doctor couldn't quite meet her red-rimmed eyes. Then something like a snort of laughter slipped past Yaz's lips and she reached a hand up and pulled at one of the strands of the Doctor's hair.

"That's gotten really long," Yaz said. "Should probably take you to get it cut." The Doctor hadn't even noticed, between everything that happened, and was shocked when she reached up a hand to feel, indeed, it had grown out.

"I would love that," she said, trying to retain that quiet tone, though she knew her excitement was starting to brim. "Gettin' my hair cut with Yaz. Sounds perfect."

"You're completely mad," Yaz said, shaking her head and the Doctor was glad to see that smile back on her face. They fell into relative silence after that, occasionally speaking about something stupid before falling silent again. The Doctor, for the first time in a while, didn't feel tired and instead was content to sit on the sofa, facing Yaz until Yaz started to braid her hair and that was new but really nice.

The boys soon returned with bags of food, entering the small home quietly, setting the food in the kitchen before sitting in the living room with Yaz and the Doctor. They all sat and the Doctor was certain that she'd never felt that she belonged in a place more than she did with the Fam. Explaining to them wouldn't be such a bad thing.

So, when Yaz had finished and curled up on the far end of the sofa, the Doctor's legs in her lap, the Time Lord opened her mouth and started from the very beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> congrats on making it this far! i hope that you enjoyed and, if you're feeling like it, please leave a comment or a kudos. they always make my day. make sure to stay safe and wash your hands!


End file.
